Overview
- The Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP) reported a magnitude 7.2 quake on Thursday, August 20, with an epicenter 35 km north of Coracora, Parinacochas and a focus depth of 108 km.
- The Peruvian Navy’s hydrography office ruled out a tsunami risk for the coast and national emergency bodies activated inspections and monitoring after the tremor.
- Early official statements of no fatalities were revised after field checks found injuries and dozens of damaged or uninhabitable homes and public facilities in Parinacochas and nearby districts.
- The USGS issued a different initial estimate (about magnitude 6.7 and a shallower depth), a common early discrepancy that the IGP’s 7.2/108 km solution is using as the national record.
- Peru’s position on the Pacific Ring of Fire and the quake’s intermediate depth explain why it was felt across a wide area while local adobe construction raised the risk of concentrated damage near the epicenter.